CARRIER-GRADE TELEPHONY NETWORK
TELECOM SALES & DEMO: 1 (417) 386-2898
KaiCalls
Help Center

Text-message registration (A2P 10DLC)

Your texts need to be registered with the carriers. Here is how that gets done.

Phone carriers block business texts from numbers they do not know. Registration is how they learn who you are. For most KaiCalls numbers, we handle it for you.

Kai checking a phone number off his list

Done for you

KaiCalls numbers

Your number joins our registered messaging campaign when you get it.

You register

Your own Twilio account

Register in your Twilio console. The dashboard shows your status.

Every night

Re-check

We re-check every active number and fix any that dropped out.

Overview

What text-message registration is

Carriers call it A2P 10DLC. It means a business sent the text, not a person, from a normal 10-digit number.

AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon want to know who sends business texts. If they do not know a number, they filter its texts. The text looks sent on your end. It never arrives. Even a plain appointment reminder can get dropped.

Registration has two parts. A brand says who the business is. A campaign says what the texts are about and how people agree to get them. A number that is in an approved campaign is a registered sender.

Kai texts on your behalf. He sends missed-call texts, booking confirmations, and replies. All of those are business texts. So every number Kai texts from must be registered.

Most customers

If you use a KaiCalls number

You do not fill out any forms. We add your number to our registered campaign when you get it.

What happens

KaiCalls holds a brand and a campaign with the carriers. The campaign type is Customer Care. That covers replies, confirmations, and follow-ups to people who reached out to your business first.

When you get a KaiCalls number, we add it to that campaign right away. If the add fails, we hold the number. It does not go live until it is registered. You never get a number that carriers do not know.

Every night we re-check all active numbers. If one dropped out of the campaign, we add it back. You do not need to do anything.

  1. 1

    Get your number

    Sign up or buy a number on the Phone page. Registration starts on its own.
  2. 2

    Open the Compliance page

    Go to Dashboard > Compliance > A2P Setup. You should see SMS Enabled via KaiCalls.
  3. 3

    Send a test text

    Call your number from your cell and let Kai take a message. Watch for the follow-up text.
If your dashboard says SMS follow-ups are limited until A2P registration completes, we are still adding your number. Calls work. Texts from your number start once the add goes through. Reach out to support if it lasts more than a day.

Bring your own account

If you use your own Twilio account

Your numbers live in your Twilio account. So the carriers need your brand and your campaign, not ours.

You register in your Twilio console. KaiCalls cannot file it for you. The dashboard shows your status and a checklist so you know what to gather.

  1. 1

    Open the checklist

    Go to Dashboard > Compliance > A2P Setup. Read each item so you know what to have ready.
  2. 2

    Gather your business facts

    You need your legal business name, EIN, address, and a contact person. Use the name on your IRS papers, not a nickname.
  3. 3

    Register your brand

    Click Open Twilio Console. Submit the brand first. This often takes one to two business days.
  4. 4

    Register your campaign

    Pick Customer Care as the type. Say who you text and why. Add sample texts with "Reply STOP to opt out." Explain how people agree to get texts.
  5. 5

    Link your numbers

    In Twilio, add each number to the messaging service tied to the campaign. Texts from a number outside it will be filtered.
  6. 6

    Wait for approval

    Campaign review often takes three to five business days. Do not send texts until it is approved.
Want help writing the campaign? Read our guide to a campaign that gets approved. It covers the words that cause most rejections.

After setup

Check that texts can send

A two-minute test tells you more than any status badge.

  • Dashboard > Compliance > A2P Setup shows SMS Enabled or an approved campaign.
  • Call your number from your cell and hang up before Kai answers. A missed-call text should arrive.
  • Open Dashboard > Messages. The text shows as delivered, not failed.
  • Reply STOP from your cell. You get a short goodbye text. Reply START to turn texts back on.

Stay registered

Rules that keep you registered

Registration can be lost. These are the rules Kai follows so it is not.

  • Only text people who reached out first. A call, a text, or a web form with a checked box counts. A bought list does not.
  • STOP always wins. Kai stops texting a number the moment it replies STOP. Nothing turns it back on except that person.
  • No marketing blasts. Our campaign is Customer Care. Kai blocks sales language, link shorteners, and all-caps texts before they leave.
  • Quiet hours. Kai holds texts between 9 PM and 8 AM in the recipient's time zone and sends them in the morning.

Fix it

Common problems

Most text problems are one of these.

Texts show as sent but never arrive.

Open Dashboard > Messages and read the error on the text. A carrier filter error means the number is not in a campaign. Check the A2P Setup page.

The dashboard says SMS follow-ups are limited.

Your number is still being added to our campaign. Calls work now. If this lasts more than one business day, contact support.

My Twilio campaign was rejected.

Read the reason in Twilio. Most are a name that does not match IRS records, a vague use case, or samples with no STOP line. Fix that one item and resubmit.

A customer says they never got the text.

Check that they did not reply STOP before. Then check the text was not sent late at night. Kai holds those until morning.

Optional add-on

Register in your own business name

Want the carriers to know your business, not just ours? We can file a brand and campaign in your name.

This is an optional paid add-on. You give us your legal business name, EIN, address, and a contact. We file the brand and a Customer Care campaign with the carriers. When it is approved, we move your numbers onto it.

Your texts keep sending under our registration the whole time. Nothing goes dark while you wait. Carrier and registry fees are passed through, plus our filing service.

  1. 1

    Fill in your business details

    Go to Dashboard > Compliance > A2P Setup. Use the legal name and EIN on your IRS papers.
  2. 2

    Pay and start filing

    Click Pay and start filing. Brand review often takes one to two business days. Campaign review takes three to five more.
  3. 3

    Watch the status

    The page shows each step as the carriers finish it. If they send it back, the reason is shown so you can fix it.
Not seeing this option? It is being rolled out. Your texts already deliver under our registration today.

Honest limits

What this does not cover

Registration makes carriers trust your number. It does not make every text deliver. Carriers still filter texts that look like spam, even from a registered number.

Filing in your own Twilio account needs an approved Business Profile in that account first. Without one, the carriers will not accept a brand from it.

Toll-free numbers use a different process called toll-free verification. KaiCalls does not run that process today. Ask support before you pick a toll-free number for texting.